AI Consulting That Teaches

Most change is gradual. This isn't.

Your way of working took years to build. This isn't about tweaking it. It's about adding something new. Capability you own, not dependency you manage.

Let's Talk→ See How It Works↓

Maybe you've played with ChatGPT. Maybe it was... fine.

It wrote something generic, you closed the tab, and you went back to doing things the way you've always done them. Because that way works.

But there's this quiet question that doesn't go away: What am I missing?

You see the headlines. You hear colleagues mention tools you haven't tried. You wonder if there's a version of this that actually fits how you work. Not some Silicon Valley fantasy, but something practical. Something that makes your life easier without asking you to become someone else.

That's what I help people figure out.

The Approach

This isn't about replacing your judgment. It's about extending it.

Here's what I believe: your expertise is the valuable thing. The intuition you've built over decades. The way you see patterns others miss. The questions you know to ask.

I start by listening

Before I suggest anything, I need to understand how you actually work. Not the org chart version. The real version. What's tedious? What's creative? Where do you feel like you're leaving something on the table? The right AI workflow for you depends entirely on answers only you can give.

You already have more than you think

Most people I work with already have access to powerful AI tools, whether through Google Workspace, existing subscriptions, or tools they tried once and forgot about. I'm not here to sell you new software. I'm here to help you use what you've got.

I teach, not build

I don't create custom solutions you'll need me to maintain. I teach you to build workflows yourself, using Gems, Projects, GPTs, whatever fits your setup. You'll leave with working tools and the ability to make new ones without me. That's the goal.

A Story

What this looks like in practice

I work with a firm that does strategic planning for city and county governments across the country. Their process involves intensive interviews (sometimes a dozen or more per project) with elected officials, department heads, and staff, synthesizing everything into strategic plans that actually get implemented.

The old way

Intensive interviews, sometimes a dozen per project

Someone would sit in the meeting taking notes, then spend hours typing them up, then more hours pulling out themes and insights. It worked, but it was exhausting. And they always felt like they were leaving something on the table.

The change

About two weeks to implement

Now they record their interviews with decent equipment, get clean transcripts automatically, and run those transcripts through a simple AI workflow we built together in tools they were already paying for. The AI pulls out themes, flags important quotes, and drafts initial summaries: all in minutes.

36 hours saved

~4 hours per interview × 12 interviews

But here's the part I care about most: they own this completely. It runs in their existing accounts, on tools they already knew. They understand how it works, they've already tweaked it themselves, and they've started building new workflows for other parts of their process, without my help. That's the whole point.

That's the leap. Not just faster work, but better work. Findings with an authenticity that manual notes could never capture.

Read the full case study
Services

How We Work Together

The Inventory

Clarity before commitment · $500

Before recommending anything, I need to understand your work. Not the elevator pitch, but the actual texture of your days. What takes too long? What falls through the cracks? Where does your expertise get buried under busywork?

In 90 minutes, I'll listen closely, audit what tools you already have access to, and identify the two or three highest-value opportunities for AI in your specific situation. You'll leave with a concrete recommendation: here's what to try first, here's what it would take, and here's an honest assessment of whether we should work together or whether you should just go try it yourself.

Some people take that clarity and run with it. That's a good outcome. And if we move forward together, the $500 applies to the On-Ramp.

The AI On-Ramp

Build capacity, not dependency · $3,750

This is the core of what I do. Over four weeks, through four working sessions, I teach you to build AI workflows using tools you already have: Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, whatever fits your situation.

We might start with hardware consulting (like setting up interview recording). We'll definitely build working Gems or Projects together: custom agents with your expertise baked in, designed for your specific workflows. And I'll share my own system prompt that helps you build new agents on your own.

The goal isn't a polished deliverable you depend on me to maintain. It's your competence. By the end, you'll understand how this works well enough to adapt it yourself. You won't need me. If we keep working together after that, it should be because you want to. Not because you have to.

Not sure where to start? Book a free 15-minute call. No pitch, no pressure. Just a conversation to figure out if there's something worth exploring.

Book a Free 15-Minute Call→
Colin Kloecker, founder of SaltationAI
About

Hi, I'm Colin.

For more than a decade, I worked at the intersection of environment, art, and public engagement: documentary films, publications, exhibitions, artist-scientist collaborations. The partners ranged from universities to water treatment facilities, and the work always started the same way: listening carefully, then building something together. That's still how I work best.

When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, I felt something unexpected: recognition. Not a replacement for human collaboration, but a new kind of partner. A way to think out loud, move faster on the tedious stuff, and spend more time on work that actually matters.

I spent the next year immersed in this. Not as an engineer, but as someone trying to understand what AI actually means for how we work. Friends started asking questions. Then their colleagues. Then their clients.

Now I'm a guide for people who are too busy doing their real work to track every new AI development. What I keep hearing from clients is that they feel heard. That's not an accident. Before I can help you figure out where AI fits, I have to understand how you actually work. Listening is the part of this I'm best at.

I still have moments where AI reveals a possibility so surprising I have to get up and take a walk. That's the feeling I want to share with you.

Get in touch→

Client testimonials

During peak season, we were fielding hundreds of calls and emails from grantees every week. Colin's chatbot didn't replace our team - it gave us capacity we didn't have. Over a thousand conversations handled, zero budget surprises, and our staff could finally focus on the people who needed more than a quick answer.

John Bly

Director of Operations + Special Projects, Metro Blooms

Most consultants show up with a solution already in mind. Colin listened first. He understood how our process actually worked before suggesting anything. Now our team focuses on insights, not transcription. Honestly, the work is better. Our findings have an authenticity that our old notes couldn't capture. It all runs on tools we built together.

Marv Weidner

CEO, Managing Results, LLC

Colin's guidance transformed my initial avoidance into excitement to experiment and try new things. I've been delighted by this process and thrilled about the new possibilities SaltationAI is helping us explore.

Katie Eukel

Co-Founder/Principal, Seiche

The Name

sal·ta·tion

/salˈtāSH(ə)n/ · noun

A sudden leap. In biology: when gradual change gives way to something genuinely new. That's what the right AI guidance can do. Not incremental improvement, but a real shift in what's possible.

Get Started

Curious whether this could work for you?

Let's just talk. Fifteen minutes, no pressure, no pitch. You'll tell me a bit about your work, I'll share what I've seen help people in similar situations, and we'll figure out if there's something worth exploring together.

Book a Free 15-Minute Call

Or if you'd rather start with email: colin@saltation.ai